"It is kidnapping," said the girl's father, Lou Pelletier. "It's beyond any wildest nightmare that you could think of." The clinical psychologist known by the family says, "It's the most bizarre situation ... I've ever been involved with."

Our mission is to save lives and prevent injury by providing protection against convicted domestic violence offenders through a National Domestic Violence Offender Registry which requires MANDATORY registration of convicted offenders. Enabling people to protect themselves with information BEFORE they enter into a relationship or become involved with someone that has convictions for domestic violence offers a great deal of protection by prevention. We recognize that domestic violence is a human issue: although women are most often affected by this crime, children and men are also victims. We recognize that domestic violence occurs in all types of relationships: casual, dating, engaged, married, same sex, and parent/child. We believe all persons deserve protection from those convicted of domestic violence charges. Whether you have been a victim, a parent, friend, colleague, neighbor, employer, or witness to an incident, you can help. Even if you don’t feel you’ve ever encountered or been affected by domestic violence, your signature can still save lives. This is one survivor’s story: “I am a survivor of Domestic Violence; however, my abuser continues 20 years later to repeatedly offend with at least 4 more convictions with different women who had no knowledge of his history. This information is kept private and out of public view by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in my state. If his convictions were PUBLIC and VIEWABLE nationally, then it could protect others from his abuse. It would definitely make a huge difference in entering into any kind of relationship with this person. So much pain, injury and potential death could be prevented if there was a Registry in existence for Convicted Domestic Violence just was we all use and appreciate the National Sex Offenders Registry.”

Mayor Nutter is considering privatizing Philadelphia's gas utility, which would take all decisions about liquefied natural gas -- and by extension, fracking -- out of public hands. The fracking industry plans to make Philadelphia a shale gas hub, so it is critical that we keep public control over our gas utility to ensure public input in decisions about gas infrastructure. A private gas company would increase rates, potentially leaving thousands of Philadelphians in the cold. We're fortunate that our gas utility is publicly owned, as this is rare among gas companies. Now, let's make sure it stays that way!

Nearly 50 countries require labels on GMOs, and many of these also have severe restrictions or bans against GMO food production or sale. We deserve the same level of protection and information as citizens in other nations around the world.

The nonpartisan Politifact, who has come out with a summary of Scott Walker’s half-truths, falsehoods and full-on “Pants on Fire” lies in his new book, Unintimidated. We as Wisconsinites and those committed to the truth, ask that Barnes and Noble lead the book market in a commitment to representing the facts by moving this revisionist history to the appropriate Fiction Section.

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change. As an educator of Hurricane disaster relief, I have seen how false debate over climate change gets in the way of students as young as 6th grade taking steps to learn and make real change in their world. When we teach and learn Katrina, Sandy, and now Haiyan among others, we need to be able to focus on what will make a healthier, more resilient society:It's not about saving the Earth nor about simply re-building, but rather about building ourselves up and in new ways. This kind of change is cultural and the popular culture needs to lean toward being informed by what newspapers can only rightly report about how the world works.

As noted in a recent report of the Children's Defense Fund, U.S. children and teens are 17 times more likely to die from a gun than their peers in 25 other high-income countries combined. In 2010, children and teen gun death rates in the U.S. were over four times higher than in Canada, nearly seven times higher than in Israel, and nearly 65 times higher than in the United Kingdom. [CDF, "Protect Children not Guns Overview," p.1] The events in Newtown, CT in December 2012, were unimaginable, and yet, thus far, our nation has been unable to make legal and cultural changes to sufficiently protect children from the effects of gun violence. A campaign to develop awareness is necessary. We must never forget the horrible massacre of school children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary in December of 2012. We must also be mindful of the children we may or may not hear about but whose death by gun violence most assuredly is felt deeply by their families, friends and communities. The proclamation of December as "National Children and Gun Violence Awareness Month" will honor the memory of those we have lost and build the awareness needed to create lasting change.

This bill would further damage school funding in PA. This bill creates a private authorizer system and it allows some charters to escape local oversight through consolidation. Higher education institutions would be able to decide to approve a charter school and communities would still be responsible for paying for them - so taxpayers would have all of the responsibility and none of the say. The state would oversee consolidated charters, but state enforcement has been weak. It also eliminates reasonable enrollment limits, which allow communities to plan and determine how best to meet their community's educational needs and how tax dollars will be used! Oppose SB 1085 today!

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change.

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny the facts of climate change. There is room for a healthy debate on the appropriate actions to take in response to the reality of human-activity-caused global warming and consequent climate change, but there is no longer a legitimate debate about the facts that the globe is warming and that human activity is causing it.

City of Detroit retirees have worked long and hard for up to 30 years or more for their pensions and now, as part of the bankruptcy, the Governor and the Emergency Manager propose to eliminate our pensions. I, personally, worked for the Detroit Housing Commission for over 30 years and have earned the pension which I was promised at the time I signed on and it would be tragic (and unfair) for me to lose it at this point. (Please note, my actual petition is somewhat longer and I would really like to have the opportunity to let you see it in its entirety).

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change.